The present invention relates generally to dental models, and more particularly to dental models having a jaw component and demountable components, such as tooth components and/or implant analogue components, that can be accurately mounted to the jaw component and removed multiple times. In many embodiments, the dental models disclosed herein can be fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques such as stereo-lithography (SLA) and three-dimensional printing.
In the preparation of dental crowns, bridges, and implants, a physical model of the jaw is often used. These jaw models represent the patient's jaw in the vicinity of the crown(s), bridge(s), or implant(s) being prepared. Existing approaches for the preparation of these jaw models have included milling the jaw model from a solid block of material. Such milled jaw models, however, lack desirable features, such as demountable portions that can be accurately positioned when mounted and selectively removed to better facilitate the preparation of the applicable dental crown, bridge, and/or implant.
Thus, improved dental models and related methods are desirable, particularly dental models with demountable portions that can be repeatedly accurately mounted and demounted.